On A Quest Step Eight
by mmouse15
Summary: The steps between the ending of Chapter 5 of On a Quest and where Hound and Mirage really wanted to be.


Title: Step Eight (A sequel to On A Quest)

Content: Smut. Kissing, frottage, oral sex, sticky sex

A/N: A series of vignettes to bridge the gap between Ch. 5 of On A Quest and, well, what naggingfishwife really wanted. So, a giftfic, really, for my friend. The title is taken from her comment about the timing.

* * *

><p>Mirage awoke to pain. He'd taken a shot to the shoulder where his electro-disrupter connected to his body, and the power surge from the disrupter had wreaked havoc with his systems, causing a circuit board to fry and two energon lines to rupture, along with the associated wiring and sensor nodes. His shoulder felt like someone was pressing a hot metal rod into the wound.<p>

"Stop moving," Ratchet told him brusquely, "and it won't hurt as much."

"Oh, that's good to know." Mirage said.

A chuckle floated between them. "You'll be fine, Mirage, after you've had a chance to heal." Ratchet finished, straightening and transforming the tools he was using on Mirage's shoulder back into a hand. He then applied a pain-killing patch to Mirage's plating and the relief was enough to cause Mirage to sigh.

"All right, Mirage. I can't release you from medbay yet, because those patches only last for a couple of hours." Ratchet moved away to wash his hands and move on to his next patient.

"I can keep an optic on him," a voice said, "and I can reapply patches, too."

Mirage turned his head carefully. Hound was on the other side of his berth, looking at Ratchet. He looked down and smiled at Mirage before returning his gaze to the medic.

"If it's alright with Mirage, I can release him into your care, Hound." Ratchet said.

"I'd like that, please, Ratchet." Mirage answered. "I sleep better in my own berth."

In a minor flurry of activity, Mirage was released into Hound's care. Hound came around the berth and carefully helped Mirage sit up, then swivel so his legs were over the edge of the berth. They both waited as Mirage's gyros adapted to the new position, slowed by the injury and the effects of the pain patch. Once the room stopped gently spinning around, Mirage put his hands on Hound's shoulders and Hound put his hands on Mirage's waist and between them, they got Mirage safely down and standing on his own pedes.

The walk to Mirage's quarters was slow, and Mirage leaned on Hound's arm the entire way, grateful for the support and the stability Hound was providing.

They got into the room, and Hound helped Mirage to lie down on his berth, then dimmed the lights and made himself comfortable on Jazz's berth, where he could monitor Mirage and help him as needed through the night.

Mirage was grateful, as Hound was a light recharger, quickly alert and ever so helpful with Mirage's pain and discomfort. Mirage came out of recharge completely the next morning and simply lay there, basking in the feeling of being safe and cared for.

"G'morning, Mirage." Hound said softly. He was smiling down on Mirage as he deftly removed the old patch and put a new one onto Mirage's shoulder.

"Good morning, Hound." Mirage replied.

"I just got a comm from Ratchet; he'd like to see you as soon as you're awake, so I went and got some energon for us." Hound suited action to words, helping Mirage sit up and move so he was leaning against the wall and could hold the cube with the hand on his uninjured arm. Mirage gratefully drank the energon, feeling the energy spread through his systems. His repair systems were especially active, and Mirage didn't refuse when Hound pressed another cube into his hand, drinking it and grateful for Hound's consideration.

Once he was done, Hound helped him stand, then escorted him to the medbay, where Ratchet checked him over. Once the medic was through, Mirage found that Hound had waited for him and was ready to walk him back to his room.

Mirage expected Hound to simply leave him, but Hound did not. Instead, he excused himself, coming back with some large cushiony pillows he'd borrowed from the Aerialbots, a couple cubes of energon for later, and a datapad. Hound stacked the cushions on Mirage's berth, then helped him lean back against them. Mirage sighed as he relaxed into the comfortable incline of pillows. Hound then brought a chair from the table and sat down, turning the datapad on and beginning to read aloud a classic novel from the golden age, one of Mirage's favorites.

"Where did you get…?" Mirage was astonished.

"Prowl," Hound said, grinning, "it turns out, has a rather complete library and was happy to download this one for me."

"That's wonderful. Thank you, Hound." Mirage said, smiling at his friend.

"You're welcome, Mirage." Hound smiled back and began to read.

With little steps like this, Hound earned Mirage's trust and showed that he genuinely cared about Mirage, and over time, they became closer.

* * *

><p>Hound was sitting on Mirage's berth, his back against the wall, Mirage curled on his lap, reading aloud another classic novel.<p>

Mirage was distracting him, though, petting his chestplates and running his fingers into the mountings of his winch. Hound shifted the datapad to his other hand, then captured Mirage's straying fingers in his own and held them close.

Mirage allowed this for another chapter before wriggling his fingers free and going back to tracing parts of Hound's body.

Hound growled, his chest rumbling as he did, and Mirage arched closer, tangling his fingers in the grill of Hound's alt form and pulling the scout closer.

Hound dropped the datapad, tipping Mirage over onto his back and kissing him fiercely, one hand tracing the vents framing Mirage's face, the other crossed behind his back. Hound worked that hand free so it could stroke Mirage's waist and hip, causing the mech to arch into his touch.

Mirage shifted, squirming under Hound until Hound was between his legs. Hound moaned and turned so he was lying on top of Mirage, pressing him into the berth. The pressure between his legs felt wonderful, and Mirage tilted his hips, pressing his interface panel into Hound's body.

Hound shifted, moving up slightly so his panel met Mirage's. They moaned, rubbing against each other, Hound's fingers clenching against Mirage's hip. Mirage was clutching Hound's arms, pulling him tighter. Their hips bucked, grinding against each other, as they continued kissing.

Mirage's panel retracted, allowing his interface array to rub against Hound's plating, smearing lubricants over Hound's groin, but giving Mirage the sensations he needed. His spike was tabbed, since he did not enjoy using it, but rubbing the tab against Hound sent electrical shocks of sensation through his valve and all too soon, Mirage was pushing hard against Hound and crying out in overload before falling back against the berth, gasping for cool air to expel the hot waste gases that were causing his engine to hiccup slightly.

Hound moved against Mirage a couple more times for shaking through his own overload, transfluid leaking out from behind his panel. They lay together for a long time, calming their systems and cooling off from their sudden step into intimacy.

Hound shifted down so he could more easily kiss Mirage, starting slow and sweet. Mirage responded beautifully, opening to Hound and focusing on the kiss as if nothing else mattered. Hound was moved to break the kiss and rest his helm against Mirage's, his systems moving toward overheating again. Mirage began to rub against Hound again.

"Primus, Mirage, what you do to me." Hound panted.

"More, please, Hound. I want you." Mirage begged.

Hound kissed him again, then disentangled himself, looking ruefully down at his panel. Mirage lay on the berth, excess charge still thrumming through his body. Hound pulled a cloth out of subspace and wiped his plating free of lubricant before turning away and opening his panel.

Mirage moved his hands down to his valve, the desire for overload overriding his restraint. He began to circle a finger around the opening of the valve.

Hound wrapped his hand around Mirage's fingers and stopped the movement of his hand. Mirage looked at him.

"Mirage, I love you. I want you. I don't want to jump into physical intimacy just because it feels good. I want you forever, and I'm willing to wait for however long it takes for us to reach that point. However, I kind of feel like this is my fault for letting us get this far. May I," Hound ex-vented deeply, "take care of you?"

Mirage felt as if he were suspended, on the cusp of an enormous step in his life, a step he'd no idea was there before today. Slowly he nodded and was rewarded by one of Hound's big smiles.

Hound climbed back onto the berth, kneeling between Mirage's legs and making himself comfortable. He pressed a kiss to Mirage's groin panel, just below his waist, and then vented out onto the kiss. The sensation of wet and warm pulled a deep groan from Mirage, and Hound chuckled before moving down. He kissed over Mirage's tabbed spike before venturing lower and kissing Mirage's valve.

Mirage tilted his hips and Hound took him up on the invitation, placing one arm across Mirage's hips to hold him before plunging his glossa into the slick depths of Mirage's valve. Mirage pushed against the invader and Hound vented out again, pulling a shriek from Mirage's vocalizer at the sensation of warm air across the nodes the circled the opening of his valve. Hound chuckled and slid a finger in beside his glossa, rubbing against the sensitive line of nodes along the back of Mirage's valve.

Mirage pushed against the sensations, and Hound reciprocated by sliding in another finger, scissoring them and pressing against nodes on either side of the valve. He used his fingers to stimulate the internal sensors and his glossa to flick against the external nodes, building Mirage's excess charge quickly. He worked another finger in, then brought his thumb around and pressed it against the tab that covered Mirage's spike, lipping the edge of Mirage's valve.

Mirage overloaded hard, lubricants flowing over Hound's hand. Hound continued to slide his fingers into Mirage's valve until Mirage shuddered and collapsed.

Hound gently withdrew and pulled a cloth from subspace. He gently wiped Mirage's array before pulling another cloth out and wiping his mouth, then his fingers.

Finally, Hound moved up and pressed a gentle kiss to Mirage's mouthplate. Mirage responded, kissing him back.

"I love you. I'm going to leave now and get some recharge, okay?" Hound told him.

Mirage chirred at him, curling up and allowing himself to drift into his own recharge cycle.

The next morning, Mirage was mortified at his lack of control and couldn't look up when Hound pinged for entry.

Hound placed a finger under Mirage's chin and gently tilted his face up before saying, "I love you. I want to apologise for my lack of control last night."

Mirage sputtered, "I was the one that was lacking control!"

Hound smiled sweetly and suggested, "Perhaps we can call it a mutual loss of control?"

Grudgingly, Mirage peeked at Hound to see warmth and love in the scout's optics. He nodded, dislodging his chin from Hound's finger. "Yes, I suppose we can."

"Excellent. Let's go get some energon and talk about where we'd like to go from here, shall we?" Hound motioned toward the door.

Mirage's discomfort in Hound's company was soothed by Hound's matter-of-fact treatment of the situation. Sometimes, getting physical felt good and given how much time they'd been spending in each other's company, becoming curious about each other and how compatible they were was natural. Hound withdrew slightly from physical intimacy with Mirage, so the cuddling stopped, as did any deep kisses.

Mirage grew frustrated with the situation. Now that he'd had a taste of what being with Hound was like, he wanted more. He found himself pushing against Hound's boundaries, yet every time Hound queried him, he denied wanting to go further in a physical relationship.

Finally, even Hound's legendary patience was exhausted.

"Mirage, you can't keep doing this to me!" Hound told him emphatically. Mirage was lying on the berth, arching his back and moaning as Hound pressed against the wall next to the door, shaking with restraint.

Something in Hound's tone caught Mirage's attention, and he slowly sat up, shaking off the desire to interface until he didn't know his own name.

"Yes, yes, you're right, Hound. I do need to figure this out. Would you…please…leave?" Mirage pressed his fists into the creases of his hips, trying to settle the thrum of arousal and the ache of excess charge firing through his systems.

Hound waited until he was not longer shaking before going, and Mirage resettled himself on the berth, his back against the wall, and thought.

He thought about what he wanted between himself and Hound. He thought about a future, and he thought about his past. It was…not fun, this exercise he'd embarked upon, but Mirage went through his upbringing and the expectations it had given him, then he went through his early days in the Autobots, when everything he said or did was wrong and many other recruits made fun of him until Jazz took him under his wing and made him part of the Special Operations group. Working with Jazz gave him protection, but he still had to deal with a completely different set of expectations about behavior and social protocols.

Coming to Earth had added another layer to this complex soup of behavior and expectations. The Autobots that had made it through the crash of the Ark and the many vorns of stasis were a far more egalitarian group now than they had been on Cybertron. The strict chains of command had almost disappeared, giving freedom to every mech in the army to lead at any time. The exception to this was, of course, their Prime, but even he obeyed when a mech yelled for everyone to get down. Mirage would never have associated publicly with Hound when he was young, and even on Cybertron, Hound reported to a different commander than Mirage did, so their paths rarely intersected.

Mirage thought about what that meant. Was he settling for what he could get? Was he taking advantage of Hound's good nature and sweet temperament? Many mechs were pairing up now that energy was plentiful and the Decepticons didn't seem as much of a threat as they'd been on Cybertron, was he getting caught up in that desire to pair off? Or was he releasing the last of his youthful expectations about who was suitable as a mate and who was not? Did he emlike/em Hound, and if so, how much?

Mirage thought through the night, facing things about himself that he was not proud of doing, but also coming to understand what was driving him to behave the way he'd been doing.

He wanted Hound. As a youth, Hound would have been a hidden secret, a mech that Mirage kept on the side and didn't overtly acknowledge. He would have been mated to a mech or femme that would have augmented his family's power, and he would have lived with the politics of an arranged match. In the more strict days of the Autobot army, Hound wouldn't have associated with him, and here on Earth there were still questions behind Mirage's back about what power he had over Hound.

But Mirage wanted the peace and the simple joy Hound brought to the act of living. Hound appreciated the world around him and the mechs he associated with. He could always find something good to say about anybody, and he didn't worry about things he didn't have or couldn't get, releasing regret and reveling in the life around him. Mirage longed for that kind of peace. He didn't want to take it from Hound, he wanted to learn from him how to enjoy.

And he had been learning. He'd come to enjoy their evenings together, reading and talking and spending time in each other's company. Mirage finally realised that he could live like that forever, as long as Hound was with him.

Mirage crafted a private communiqué to Hound and sent it just before their duty shift started.

_::Hound. I apologise for my behavior of last night. It was wrong of me to try and take advantage of you that way. I am sorry. Please forgive me?::_

After he'd reported to Ironhide for weapons and defense training, something everyone still kept working on just in case the war wasn't as over as they hoped, he received his reply.

_::Nothing to forgive, Mirage. See you tonight?::_

Mirage sent an affirmative reply to Hound and concentrated on his day.

* * *

><p>Ironhide was kind and let Mirage off early. He hurried to his berthroom and unlocked a cabinet, pulling a flagon and container of high-grade from the compartment, then two crystalline cups to hold the drink. He put everything on the table and then left, locking the door behind him. He headed toward the washracks, scrubbing himself and getting Fireflight to scrub his back. The Aerialbot also helped him dry his back (he returned the favors) and then Mirage left to intercept Hound at the Ark's entrance.<p>

When Hound drove up and transformed into his bipedal form, a huge grin broke across his face when he saw Mirage waiting for him.

Throwing caution and expectations to the wind, Mirage went to meet Hound, a matching smile on his face. When they neared each other, Mirage dodged Hound's effort to take his hands and instead flung his arms around Hound's neck, pulling himself up on tiptoes and pulling Hound's head down before kissing him. He pulled back after a moment and said, "Hound, I love you, too."

Hound pulled Mirage to him, burying his face in Mirage's neck and holding on, and Mirage realised that this was the first time he'd said those words to Hound.

They held each other until Hound regained his composure, then slowly drew apart. Mirage smiled up at Hound and took his hand.

"Washracks for you, then I have something I want to share with you in my quarters. May I scrub your back?" Mirage began to lead Hound inside, nodding at Cliffjumper who had guard duty as they passed him.

Hound let Mirage lead him to the washracks, Mirage chatting idly about light topics, such as the latest development in the on-going peace talks between the Autobots and two governments of the Middle East. Mirage was skilled at not talking about anything of any import, but having a funny story to tell.

"…I think they were trying to drive Jazz crazy. They wanted special figs, imported by one specific company and one certain type, very difficult to get. Jazz had to call in a couple of favors to get them, but the expression on the ambassadors' faces was worth all the effort it took to meet their demands. So the talks continued, and Optimus was very happy Jazz stepped in to help. I think Red Alert and Prowl were starting to have problems with the unreasonableness of the requests, and it was smart of Optimus to let them focus on what they're skilled at doing and let Jazz take care of the social niceties."

"Let me guess," Hound said, chuckling at the story, "you were helping."

"Oh, of course. Bee and I always help if Jazz gets pulled into this type of stuff." Mirage answered, toweling Hound off, then getting a buffing cloth to run over Hound's plating. "There, all done."

"Thank you for your help, Mirage." Hound said.

"You're welcome. Shall we?" Mirage offered his hand to Hound and led him from the washracks, down the halls to the berthrooms.

Once in his quarters, Mirage peeled the lid off the high-grade and poured it into the flagon, then dispersed the cube and poured some into both cups before offering one to Hound.

They sat and Hound shifted, uncomfortable. Mirage raised his cup and said, "May I propose a toast?"

Hound mimicked him and raised his cup. "Yes, of course."

"To us. To a long and happy life together. I love you. Will you consider becoming my bondmate?" Mirage asked, his gaze intent on Hound's face.

Hound froze, then began to tremble. Mirage set his cup down and moved around the table, pulling Hound's cup from his hand and setting it on the table before climbing into Hound's lap and pulling him close. Hound wrapped his arms around Mirage, holding him close, murmuring his name over and over.

"Mirage, oh, Mirage. I love you so much. Mirage, my beloved Mirage."

Mirage held on, awed by the depth of Hound's devotion and love. They held each other close until Hound could speak without having his vocalizer stammer. When he'd regained his composure, Hound lifted his head and reached behind Mirage, bringing his cup around and handing it to Mirage before retrieving his own. Hound touched his cup to Mirage's.

"To us." Hound said simply, and drank deeply.

Mirage echoed him and drank his own cup. Hound set his cup down, collected Mirage's and set it down, then kissed Mirage.

Hound had been holding back. Mirage was flooded with feeling as Hound began to explore his body, running his hands everywhere, kissing along Mirage's cheek to his helm, kissing the vents that framed his face, then kissing along Mirage's neck, using his glossa to lave the lines of Mirage's neck.

Mirage was moaning before Hound even reached his neck, using his own hands to delve under Hound's plating and stimulate the sensor nodes that edged the underside of the plates.

Hound came back up and kissed Mirage's lips, cupping one hand under Mirage's aft and the other behind his back before standing and moving to the berth, where he laid Mirage down gently, then settled over him.

Lying together like this allowed Hound to explore Mirage's body completely, and he did so, moving down Mirage's torso and pressing kisses where ever he could, licking at the joins of plates and then venting over the spots before moving on. He soon had Mirage writhing on the berth, moaning and arching into the touches. By the time Hound reached Mirage's interface panel, Mirage had already retracted it and lubrication was gleaming around the rim.

Hound licked his lips as he looked up at Mirage. Mirage moaned at the heat in Hound's optics, twisting his hips slightly. Hound's optics were drawn down to Mirage's valve by the motion, and he bent down and licked.

Mirage pressed against Hound's mouth, and Hound began lipping at the edge of Mirage's valve while stroking his hands over Mirage's thigh plates, spreading his legs open even further.

Hound then moved up to Mirage's tab and sucked lightly, drawing a muffled shriek as Mirage clamped his hand over his mouth. Hound smiled and slid up Mirage's body, pressing his panel against Mirage's valve.

"Ready?" Hound asked. Mirage nodded, and Hound opened his panel and unsheathed his spike, nudging it against Mirage's valve before starting to rock back and forth, working the spike in deeper with each gentle thrust.

Mirage groaned as Hound's thick spike filled him, rubbing against the sensors embedded in his valve walls and pressing against the flexible lining, the lubrication easing the path of the spike, the friction sending thrills of electrical excitement through him.

Once he was all the way in, Hound paused and dropped his head, nuzzling against Mirage's helm and then kissing him deeply.

"I love you. You feel amazing, Mirage."

"So do you, Hound," Mirage whispered. "How does this feel?" So saying, he tilted his hips up slightly, causing Hound to go slightly deeper.

"So good!" Hound moaned.

"'Face me." Mirage whispered, and Hound let go.

Mirage felt as if he were in a whirlwind of pleasure, touches all over his body, strokes deep and even into his valve, kisses peppered everywhere Hound could reach and through it all, love hummed between them, twining through their systems and binding them, enhancing the charge crackling between them.

Hound fumbled his hand between them, pressing his thumb to Mirage's tab and holding on as Mirage shouted and tumbled into overload, bucking up into Hound as his hips shifted back and forth. Mirage's motions triggered Hound's overload, and he pressed deep into Mirage, clutching the blue mech to his own body.

Once the storm had passed, Hound eased his spike out of Mirage and lay beside him, gathering Mirage close and turning so Mirage's head was pillowed on his shoulder. They dropped into recharge with one last murmur between them.

"I love you."

Finis!


End file.
